Tag-label assembly



United States Patent 3,226,862 TAG-LABEL ASSEMBLY Walter H. Gabruk, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 215,045 2 Claims. (Cl. 40--2) The present invention relates to labels and more particularly to a tag-label structure which permits the label to be removed from the tag for affixation to an article for identification and the tag to be divided into sections that can serve as a record and a receipt.

In many businesses a dealer often serves as the intermediary between the customer and the manufacturer for the return of an article to the manufacturer for the purpose of repair or replacement. In such instances, the

customer receives a stub with an identification number.

and the dealers name and address, a second stub bearing the same identification number is attached to the article, and a third stub is retained by the dealer for his record of the transaction and forwarding of the article to the manufacturer. Such tags are known in the art and are usually in the form of a single strip of paper or cardboard that is separable by means of spaced lines of perforations to form a number of individual stubs, the stub to be attached to the article being provided with a water-soluble adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive that is usually protected by a cover sheet. prior art to provide a label having a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one surface thereof and to protect such surface with a cover sheet, the removal of the cover sheet often presents a problem in that it is difiicult to separate the label from the cover sheet. It is also known in the art to mount a label having a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on one surface thereof and a protective cover sheet on a tag in such a manner that the label and cover sheet can be removed as a unit. Since the label still carries the cover sheet, the problem still remains in that the cover sheet must be removed before the label can be affixed to the article.

The present invention eliminates the problem of removing the cover sheet on the label in that the cove-r sheet remains adhered to the tag when the label is removed. The tag-label structure disclosed and described herein comprises a tag having a film of pressure-sensitive adhesive on one surface thereof which is separated from the pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on the label by a sheet having adhesive release surfaces on opposite sides thereof. The adhesive on the tag is one which has a greater afiinity for the sheet having the release surfaces than the adhesive on the label. As a result, when the label is removed from the tag, the release sheet is peeled from the label and remains adhered to the tag. The adhesive surface on the label is then fully exposed and the label can be immediately aflixed to the article. Since the label can be carried by or affixed to any one section of the tag, it can be removed either before or after the tag is separated into a number of sections or stubs.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a taglabel structure in which the label can be readily removed from the tag with all or a portion of its adhesive surface exposed for affixing it directly to an article.

Another object of the invention is to provide a taglabel structure wherein the label is carried byone of the sections of a multiple-section tag with the adhesive sur- While it is known in the 3,226,862 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 face of the label separated from the adhesive surface on the one section by a separator sheet having adhesive release surfaces, the adhesive surface on the section having a greater afiinity for the separator sheet than the adhesive surface on the label, whereby upon removal of the label, the separator sheet remains adhered to the tag section.

And still another object of the invention is to provide 'a tag-label structure wherein the label is carried by one of the sections of a multiple-section tag having an adhesive area and an adhesive-free area and the adhesive surface of the label is separated from the adhesive area on the tag portion by a separator sheet having release surfaces and a slit intermediate its ends in accordance with the line of division between said areas, whereby only the portion of the separator sheet in contact with the adhesive area remains adhered thereto upon removal of the label These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by the embodiments of the invention disclosed and described herein after. 1

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals designate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of a group of tag-label assemblies arranged in sheet form and showing each taglabel assembly as being separable by suitable lines of perforations;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a single section tag-label structure wherein the label is positioned centrally of a tag that is larger than the label;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken principally through the label on one of the tag sections as along line 3-3 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the label carrying section of a tag showing the label being removed from the tag section.

With reference particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing the numeral 10 designates a sheet of tag-label assemblies, each of the tags 11 being separable from each other by spaced parallel lines of perforations designated by the numeral 12. Such a sheet of tag-label assemblies can be provided along one edge with a row of perforations 13 which are suitable for mounting the page or sheet in a spiral binder in a well-known manner. Each of the tags label assemblies 11 comprises three sections, namely a dealer record section 14, a label carrying section 15, and a receipt section 16. Each of the sections 14, 15 and 16 can be provided with suitable identification indicia which is imprinted on each of the sections 14 and 16 and on the label 17 which is mounted on the section 15 in a manner to be described hereinafter. In addition, each of the sections 14 and 16, as well as the label 15, can be imprinted with an identification number which is the same for each of the sections and the label. By means of the identification number the article to which the label is ordinarily attached can be identified by either the number on the dealer record section or the customer receipt section. The sections of the tag can be made separable by providing vertically spaced lines of perforations 18 and 19. The multiple section tag described thus far can be made of paper, cardboard, or any other suitable material which lends itself to being readily separated into sections by means of lines of perforations.

The label 17 is preferably made of paper or a material which is readily capable of having a pressure-sensitive adhesive material coated thereon. The pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 which is applied to the surface of the label 17 facing the tag section is protected by a separator sheet 21 having adhesive release surfaces 22 on each side of the sheet. Such a separator sheet can be, for example, made of glassine paper. As is well-known in the art, the adhesive material can be applied to the surface of the label 17 by a continuous process. After such layer has been applied to the label, the separator sheet 21 can then be applied over the adhesive surface.

The tag can have a pressure-sensitive adhesive material applied to any one of the sections 14, 15, or 16 and in the embodiment described in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 of the drawing the adhesive material is applied to the center section 15. Such an adhesive material can be applied to the tag section by an application process or by a transfer process. In either case, after the adhesive has been applied to the tag, the label, together with the separator sheet 21, is then mounted on the tag section to which the adhesive 25 has been applied.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the separator sheet 21 can be provided with a slit 26 which extends transversely of the separator sheet and is arranged intermediate its ends. Such a slit can be utilized to separate or peel the separator sheet from the label as is well-known. However, in the present invention the slit 26 is utilized to divide the separator sheet into a section 27 that is adhered to the tag and a section 28 that is used as a finger piece for peeling the label from the tag.

The pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the label 17 is different from that applied to the tag section 15 in that the adhesive 25 on the tag section has a greater affinity for the separator sheet 21 than the adhesive 20 on the label. As a result of choosing adhesives having this particular property, the label can be removed from the separator sheet so that the adhesive material normally covered by the separator sheet is fully exposed for afiixing the label to an article.

Since the adhesive layer 25 on the tag section does not extend beyond the slit 26 in the separator sheet 21, as shown in FIG. 3, the section 28 of the separator sheet not adhered to the tag section provides a finger piece which covers that portion of the adhesive material on the label so as to permit the label to be readily peeled from the tag section without sticking to the finger of the person removing the label. Obviously, the location of the transverse slit 26 with respect to the ends of the label can be positioned at any point along the longitudinal dimension of the label in accordance with the area of the adhesive 25 and the affinity of the adhesive on the tag section for the adhered section 27 of the separator sheet. In other words, the area and aifinity of the adhesive layer 25 must be sufficient to retain the adhered section 27 of the separator sheet 21 on the tag section. As shown in FIG. 4 the free end of the label 17 and separator sheet 21 is merely lifted upward with the result that the section 27 of the separator sheet adhered to the tag section 15 remains with the tag section and the corresponding area of the adhesive surface on the label is thereby fully exposed.

In another modification of the tag-label structure described above, the label 17 can be provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 that is protected by a separator sheet 21 having an adhesive release surface on only one side thereof; that is, on the side that is in contact with the adhesive 20 on label 17. A suitable substance for the pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 would be, for example, Fasson R-l25 which is commercially available from Fasson Products Company of Painesville, Ohio. The tag section 14, 15 or 16 can therefore have a pressuresensitive, water-soluble or other suitable adhesive 25 applied thereto, as described above, and the separator sheet 21 will then be affixed securely to one of the tag sections when the label and separator sheet are mounted as a unit in superposed relation thereto. For this embodiment, an adhesive having an aqueous dextrin base would be suitable for the adhesive 25, e.g. Fullers Glue which is commercially available from the H. B. Fuller Co. of St. Paul, Minnesota. By this arrangement, it is not necessary to rely on pressure-sensitive adhesive materials having different affinities for the release surfaces 22 on separator sheet 21 to retain section 27 on the tag section. With separator sheet 21 securely afiixed to the tag section, label 17 can always be peeled from the tag section without the separator sheet 21. It should also be noted that in any of the embodiments disclosed and described herein, the pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 need only cover that area of the label 17 which corresponds to the section 27 of the separator sheet 21, in which case the section or finger piece 28 can be eliminated and separator sheet 21 need not be provided with slit 26.

A modified form of the tag-label assembly is shown in FIG. 2 wherein the tag 30 comprises a single section and the label 31 is mounted thereon in the same manner as described above with respect to the disclosures in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The label 31, while shown centrally located with respect to longitudinal edges of the tag 30, can obviously be positioned in any relation to the edges of the tag 30. It is also to be stated that the label does not have to be of the same size as a tag section, as shown in FIG. 1, nor the same size as the tag per se, as shown in FIG. 2.

Since the tag-label assembly described hereinabove can be modified in many ways so as to position the label on any one of the tag sections in the case of a multiple section tag, or in any relation to a single section tag, and the tag and label can be made from any compatible materials, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments described but is of a scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tag-label structure comprising: a tag having a film of substantially nonreleasable adhesive on one surface thereof; a label of substantially the same size and shape as said tag that is arranged over and in registry with the latter, said label having one surface that is divided into two areas, one of which extends along an edge of said label and the other of which has a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating thereon; and a separator sheet of substantially the same size and shape as said label that is disposed between and in registry with said tag and label, said separator sheet having one surface that is secured to said tag by said film of nonreleasable adhesive and an adhesive release surface on which said label is removably secured by said premure-sensitive adhesive coating; whereby by grasping said one area said label can be peeled from said separator sheet, which is retained by said tag, and affixed to an article by the exposed pressuresensitive adhesive coating on said other area.

2. A tag-label structure comprising:

a tag having at least one transverse line of perforations for providing separable tag sections, one of said tag sections having a film of substantially nonreleasable adhesive on one surface thereof; a label of substantially the same size and shape as said one tag section that is arranged over and in registry with the latter, said label having one surface that is divided into two areas, one of which extends from one corner along an edge of said label and the other of which has a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating thereon; and

a separator sheet of substantially the same size and shape as said label that is disposed between and in registry with said one tag section and said label,

said separator sheet having one surface that is secured to said one tag section by said film of nonreleasable adhesive and an adhesive release surface on which said label is removably secured by said. pressure 5 6 sensitive adhesive coating; whereby by grasping said 2,682,721 7/1954 Harris 402 one area said label can be peeled from said sep-ara- 2 953 3 5 9 0 Heuser 4 2 tor sheet, which is retained by said one tag section, 3 087 267 4/1963 Gustafson and afi'ixed to an article by the exposed pressuresensitive adhesive 5 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

References Cited by the Examiner EDWARD BENHAM JEROME SCHNALL UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,332,421 3/1920 Bogardus 40-2 Examiners. 

1. A TAG-LABEL STRUCTURE COMPRISING: A TAG HAVING A FILM OF SUBSTANTIALLY NONRELEASABLE ADHESIVE ON ONE SURFACE THEREOF; A LABEL OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AS SAID TAG THAT IS ARRANGED OVER AND IN REGISTRY WITH THE LATTER, SAID LABEL HAVING ONE SURFACE THAT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO AREAS, ONE OF WHICH EXTENDS ALONG AN EDGE OF SAID LABEL AND THE OTHER OF WHICH HAS A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE COATING THEREON; AND A SEPARATOR SHEET OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AS SAID LABEL THAT IS DISPOSED BETWEEN AND IN REGISTRY WITH SAID TAG AND LABEL, SAID SEPARATOR SHEET HAVING ONE SURFACE THAT IS SECURED TO SAID TAG BY SAID FILM OF NONRELEASABLE ADHESIVE AND AN ADHESIVE RELEASE SURFACE ON WHICH SAID LABEL IS REMOVABLE SECURED BY SAID PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE COATING; WHEREBY BY GRASPING SAID ONE AREA SAID LABEL CAN BE PEELED FROM SAID SEPARATOR SHEET, WHICH IS RETAINED BY SAID TAG, AND AFFIXED TO AN ARTICLE BY THE EXPOSED PRESSURESENSITIVE ADHESIVE COATING ON SAID OTHER AREA. 